Friday, July 06, 2007

A Teacher of Morality and Mysticism

RM/MA - Mehr News - Tehran, Iran

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Rumi’s 22nd niece, Esin Celebi believes that it is easy to observe the influence of Molana on modern literature and that one characteristic which can be detected is the global nature of his thoughts.

Turkish people are very interested in reading books about Rumi and the number of such books is increasing every year, she told Mehr News Agency on Tuesday.

“Rumi’s ideas are liked in all the fields of his literature and moral writings. An important aspect of Rumi’s ideology is the improvement of intellect. He maintains that if a person’s knowledge does not improve his intellect he is like a donkey that carries books. This idea is of great importance today and is being retold in various modern stories,” she stated.

She proposed that all those who would like Rumi’s thoughts to be promoted and who want to make his spirit happy, should try to put his ideas into practice.

She continued that the language of Rumi’s poetry is the language of the heart, and his poetry has influenced many Turkish and non-Turkish poets and writers in the world.

“Some critics believe that Rumi has influenced many of today’s world writers. For example, stories from the “Masnavi” are observable in modern novels,” she underlined.

Esin Celebi also mentioned that world attention to Rumi and UNESCO’s celebration of his 800th birth anniversary (1207-1273) proves that his work and personality are of high significance, adding, “Rumi must not be restricted to only literature. He is fundamentally a teacher of morality and mysticism. He has encouraged friendship and sympathy amongst the people of the world.”

“If I was asked to express the ideology of Rumi in one sentence, I would say -- ‘Everybody must work towards world peace’ ” she concluded.

Celebi participated in the seminar in honor of the Turkish scholar Abdulbaki Golpinarli (1900-1982), which was held at the Tehran University’s Allameh Amini Hall on June 25 and 26by the Miras-e Maktub Research Center.

Abdulbaki Golpinarli, famous for his knowledge of the Persian poet and mystic Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi, has translated the complete works of Rumi into Turkish.

The topics of the seminar were “Golpinarli and the Study of Rumi”, “Golpinarli and Sufi Literature”, and “Golpinarli and the Study of Religion”.

Several Turkish scholars including the Turkish Ambassador to Tehran Husun Gurcan Turkoglu attended the seminar. Turkoglu described Golpinarli as an exceptional symbol of cultural ties between Turkey and Iran.

“The dynamism and the depth of these ties have not been crystallized by chance, but it has required heroes like Golpinarli, who have made much effort in this respect,” he added.

“It is appropriate to say that Golpinarli is this century’s hero of cultural ties between the two nations,” Turkoglu noted.

The library of the cultural section of the Turkish Embassy in Tehran was named after Abdulbaki Golpinarli during a ceremony on Tuesday, June 26.

The colloquium was part of Iran’s program for celebration of the 800th birth anniversary of Rumi (1207-1273) in 2007.

[picture: Rumi’s 22nd niece, Esin Celebi, gives a lecture during the seminar.
Photo Mehr/Mohsen Sajjadi

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Friday, July 06, 2007

A Teacher of Morality and Mysticism
RM/MA - Mehr News - Tehran, Iran

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Rumi’s 22nd niece, Esin Celebi believes that it is easy to observe the influence of Molana on modern literature and that one characteristic which can be detected is the global nature of his thoughts.

Turkish people are very interested in reading books about Rumi and the number of such books is increasing every year, she told Mehr News Agency on Tuesday.

“Rumi’s ideas are liked in all the fields of his literature and moral writings. An important aspect of Rumi’s ideology is the improvement of intellect. He maintains that if a person’s knowledge does not improve his intellect he is like a donkey that carries books. This idea is of great importance today and is being retold in various modern stories,” she stated.

She proposed that all those who would like Rumi’s thoughts to be promoted and who want to make his spirit happy, should try to put his ideas into practice.

She continued that the language of Rumi’s poetry is the language of the heart, and his poetry has influenced many Turkish and non-Turkish poets and writers in the world.

“Some critics believe that Rumi has influenced many of today’s world writers. For example, stories from the “Masnavi” are observable in modern novels,” she underlined.

Esin Celebi also mentioned that world attention to Rumi and UNESCO’s celebration of his 800th birth anniversary (1207-1273) proves that his work and personality are of high significance, adding, “Rumi must not be restricted to only literature. He is fundamentally a teacher of morality and mysticism. He has encouraged friendship and sympathy amongst the people of the world.”

“If I was asked to express the ideology of Rumi in one sentence, I would say -- ‘Everybody must work towards world peace’ ” she concluded.

Celebi participated in the seminar in honor of the Turkish scholar Abdulbaki Golpinarli (1900-1982), which was held at the Tehran University’s Allameh Amini Hall on June 25 and 26by the Miras-e Maktub Research Center.

Abdulbaki Golpinarli, famous for his knowledge of the Persian poet and mystic Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi, has translated the complete works of Rumi into Turkish.

The topics of the seminar were “Golpinarli and the Study of Rumi”, “Golpinarli and Sufi Literature”, and “Golpinarli and the Study of Religion”.

Several Turkish scholars including the Turkish Ambassador to Tehran Husun Gurcan Turkoglu attended the seminar. Turkoglu described Golpinarli as an exceptional symbol of cultural ties between Turkey and Iran.

“The dynamism and the depth of these ties have not been crystallized by chance, but it has required heroes like Golpinarli, who have made much effort in this respect,” he added.

“It is appropriate to say that Golpinarli is this century’s hero of cultural ties between the two nations,” Turkoglu noted.

The library of the cultural section of the Turkish Embassy in Tehran was named after Abdulbaki Golpinarli during a ceremony on Tuesday, June 26.

The colloquium was part of Iran’s program for celebration of the 800th birth anniversary of Rumi (1207-1273) in 2007.

[picture: Rumi’s 22nd niece, Esin Celebi, gives a lecture during the seminar.
Photo Mehr/Mohsen Sajjadi

No comments: